News Corp chief: ‘Don’t panic over cord-cutting’

News Corp Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey has downplayed the threat of OTT services calling it just “flavour of the month” for investment analysis.

Major TV companies have been barraged by questions about the threat of online video after Credit Suisse last week downgraded the entertainment sector, citing the potential for Netflix and other web video services to cause consumers to cancel their traditional pay-TV subscription – a phenomenon known as “cord-cutting.”

“Digital is an issue we have to deal with, and we have to manage,” said Carey at an investor conference in New York City. “But it’s a long-term issue.”

Carey said so-called over-the-top video services may not have a substantial effect on the TV market for years to come. In the meantime, he expects the pay-TV industry to experiment with the timing of its video releases on different technology platforms, as well as online pay walls, as it seeks to adjust its business model to accommodate the rise of digital video.